The only hope for Ethiopians today is for them to leave the country and this is full of risks—many die while attempting to make their way to another country in order to gain more opportunity. For example, think of our women suffering in the Middle East under dire conditions, or those who are dying in the refugee camps of Kenya and Sudan or those who drown in the Red Sea, attempting to reach Yemen.

I could go on and on, but most of you know what we are facing as a country and as a nation. That is why I want to call on you to say that if we are to have a future for this country, we have to come together. There is no other way. We can disagree, but we will have to find a way to still work together, not because we like it, but because our survival depends on each other.

We have to learn to disagree, but to still cooperate. We have to find a common interest like the many diverse groups are able to do in the United States. If we have no national interest in Ethiopia, we have to create one. Such national interests should be founded on the principle that every living Ethiopian is created in the image of God and is of equal value as a human being and therefore should share basic human rights.

Our national interest should be our people and the children of the future. The main problem we face in Ethiopia right now is that we have become a society that tramples on the worth, dignity and respect of its people unless they serve one’s interests or are within one’s favored group. The answer to the problems we face in Ethiopia call for a national movement that is larger than any political party interests—bigger than the Kinijit, the Hebret, the OLF, the ONLF, the EPRDF or any other political party or group of which you can think. This is the reason I am calling on you.

I, as well as others, have been calling on the Woyanne to uphold human rights, justice and the rule of law for all people, but instead of changing their ways, they have tightened their grip. They think by doing so they have a better chance to survive, but instead, they are self-destructing. In fact, I am not worried about the Meles regime or his supporters anymore. To me, Meles is like someone who by his own actions, is now standing on a chair with a rope around his neck. All that lies between him and his demise, is for someone to kick the chair out from under him, but the question is, once the chair has been kicked, what do we have to replace him?

We have so much evidence that could lead Meles and his appointed henchman to be charged and tried for crimes against humanity. Evidence from Gambella alone could be enough. If more is needed, we could use the evidence from Awassa, the Addis Ababa killings, the ongoing killing in the Ogaden and the crimes against humanity in Somalia. Right now, his only protection is the support from his friends in the West that seems to be dying or may be out of their offices soon, putting him in the position of those dictators like Charles Taylor of Liberia and Milosevich of Yugoslavia. Meles could have taken a different direction in the past, but it seemed that he could not break out of it as he continued choosing the most familiar path of violence, deception and destruction.

We will not be prepared once this chair is kicked out from underneath Meles if we are not united. If something happened in the country today, we would be in disarray as there is no strong opposition who can calm the people down and help bring stability and reconciliation to a very divided country. Now, because there is clear indication that there are serious problems within the Kinijit, I have an obligation not to be silent, but to speak up. I have hope that these words and those words from other concerned
Ethiopians may help to bring about a satisfying resolution. You are leaders who have listened to the people and who have been different from other leaders in the past. Now, I ask you to listen very carefully once again or the greater movement for freedom and justice in Ethiopia may disintegrate into ineffective factions who are more concerned with their own personal interests and agendas…continued on next page >>